The gift was from Kathy Gunn’s great aunt Allison, who had been married to Gunn's great uncle Bill for nearly half a century.

“I honestly think that we both avoided turning to the box, because it would have symbolized our failure,” Gunn wrote in a post for the ‘Love What Matters’ Facebook page. “To us, it would have meant that we didn’t have what it takes to make our marriage work – and we’re both too stubborn and determined for that. So, it forced us to reassess situations. Was it really time to open the box? What if this isn’t our worst fight? What if there’s a worse one ahead of us and we don’t have our box?!?”

“For 9 years (and three moves) that box sat high on a shelf in various closets gathering dust, yet it somehow taught us about tolerance, understanding, compromise and patience. Our marriage strengthened as we became best friends, partners, and teammates,” Gunn wrote. “Today, we decided to open that box, because I finally had a realization. I realized that the tools for creating and maintaining a strong, healthy marriage were never within that box – they were within us."

Inside the box was two wine glasses, bath soaps and two notes wrapped around money.